do you belong to a mom's group?

SoonToBeMrsTB

I'm thinking of joining one this spring/summer but Im not sure what it entails. What kinds of things do you do? How many times do you meet? Are most of the children around the same age? Any information you could provide would be appreciated, thanks!

LoveEeyore

No, I tried but found the 2 I tried frustrated me.  I know it's a form of therapy, but sitting around complaining about your kids and huusband was not for me (that's what I have the Bump for).... a few of us started our own- we meet every Sunday morning for fruit and mimosas.  No kids allowed.  It's more my style!  Unfortunately my mimosas are just OJ these days, though.

trizzie

I do!  We meet once a month at and we rotate houses.  The babies are all within a six month age range.  The babies play and we eat lunch and catch up.  We also meet at other times during the month for activities.  It is fun and I love it!

Tess12

We go to a playgroup.  Does that count? The kids are all ages (infant- to around 4) and we rotate houses.  The person who hosts provides food, usually breakfast-y stuff and snacks for the kids.  It's very low-key. We just sit around and chat and referee the kids when needed.

Taylor44

With working FT, I can't seem to find the time.  However, my SIL is part of a mommie's group, and she seems to love it.  They do a lot of trips together.  I would think it would be worth a try.

ebb7

I joined the MOMS Club (www.momsclub.org). There are meetings once a month, but weekly Playgroups that rotate among members' houses. The Playgroups are grouped by age so DD is in a group where the kids are within 12 months of her age. In addition to the Playgroups, the MOMS Club also has several kid-friendly outings each month (for example, going to an inflatable play gym, the local museum, cupcake decorating, etc.) and each month there is also a Mom's Night Out activity where you leave the kids at home and just mingle with the other moms. There are also some member socials where we hang out at someone's house and look at each other's wedding albums or bring in the worst gift we ever received, etc. It's really, really fun and it's been great to meet such a nice network of women!

Temp174496125006552

I actually just signed up for two of them yesterday.  Obviously, I haven't done anything yet.

Check meetup.com and Yahoo groups.  I see you're in NJ.  I believe I saw there were a few of them in South Jersey on meetup.

bim38106

Besides the playgroup (with all 1st time moms and babies the same age) that our hospital put together, I also joined Mother's and More, https://www.mothersandmore.org/. It's a national group with local chapters and I have met so many new friends through them and have so much to do (seriously, my social calendar day and night is now packed)! We have playgroups (depends on who wants to host and when but there are usually at least 1-2 a week), field trips (for the kids/babies, like to the zoo, museum, painted pot place, etc..), mom's nights out, moms night in, book club, general meeting once a month (which we have guest speakers talking about fashion or taking care of yourself, or organizing, massage, etc.) and more... SO much to do! I really love it and I don't know what I'd do w/out them.

Since it's local, all the mom's live right near me and we now we go to library story times together, lunch, etc.. I didn't know a whole lot of people here before having DD (moved across country for DH and couldn't get a teaching job, so I was a SAHW) and this group has been such a great outlet and a great way to meet people. It's nice to actually go out and run into people you know! I missed that

zoe_cat

I joined one through meetup.com and love it!  We meet once a week in a large room at the local community center.  Everyone brings a couple of toys to share.  I think in the summer we'll meet at a park instead.  There are also additional get-togethers, like cookie exchanges.  The kids range from 4 months-4 years, but most are between 12 months to 2.5 years.

Mc_Newlywed

Wait, where in NJ are you? I'm in the North/South/East Brunswick area. ?Are you close at all? ?

I joined my local momsclub.org too. ?And basically you get out of it what you put into it. ?You can attend everything or nothing. It's really up to you. ?They have a monthly meeting to discuss events and new ideas. ?We have a monthly moms-night-out which is usually coffee or a movie or something at someone's house. ?There are weekly or bi-weekly ?playgroups. ?And a variety of other activities. ?And kids are always welcome at our events (unless it's moms-night-out). ?So if you feel like going that day, you go. If not, you don't. ?No pressure. ?

The scheduling of the activities is somewhat interesting though. I thought it would be this big formal thing where the board says "okay on the 15th we're going to the zoo". ?But that's not how my group seems to operate. I mean, sometimes things are formal like that. ?But usually a mom gets an idea and says "I'm going to the Crayola Factory on the 20th. Anyone interested?". And they just put it on the calendar. ?If you want to go, you just call that mom and let her know. ??

I've only been a member since October but so far they've had weekly walking groups, weekly playdates, a Valentine cupcake decorating party, pizza & a movie lunch, Halloween party where everyone brings a dish to share, an outing at local indoor playground, and a variety of smaller events like lunch at McDonald's and things like that. ?

The kids in our club (I think there are about 25 moms) range from 0-7 years. ?So there are at least 3 or 4 around the same age that can form a playgroup and hang out. ??

I think you have to go into it with an open mind. You may or may not click with the other moms. ?But it's certainly worth a try. I mean, what do you have to lose? At least it'll get you out of the house for a little while and who knows, you may really hit it off with the other moms and make some great friendships.?

SoonToBeMrsTB

thanks, ladies! Your posts really got me excited and I might even join before spring/summer now. I am actually in the South Jersey area and a good friend of mine is on the board of a mom's group so maybe I can join through her. Ill have to see if her group works for us. I love the idea of mom's nites out too! Sounds so fun. DS and I definitely need some more socialization now that he's getting bigger.?

Mama Jan

I joined a playgroup with some moms from my church.  They invited me in because I was lonely   There are 7 of us now and it's getting a little big.  We meet every Tuesday at 10:30 and we rotate homes.  We have lunch around noon.  We all bring lunch for our own kids and then the host usually provides lunch but we occasionally are asked to bring a bag lunch.  Most of the kids are older (2-3 years old) but they are all starting to have their second babies.  So DS is the oldest of the next group of kids.  Also, once a month we have moms' night out.  Love it!

Toni1019

I belong to 2 of them. Anyone can set up a playdate at any time or place. Summer we do parks. Colder months we go to indoor places like gyms, Chuck e cheese, ect or peoples houses.
There is usually a meet up once a week.
Majority of the kids are 5 and under.
We also do a Moms night out once a month or every other month. Where we go to dinner just us moms.

Descanso*Bride

I joined one through the hospital where DS was born.  They have different age range groups and ours is run by the doula who taught our childbirth class.  We ask questions, share experiences, play and sing with the babies and then let the babies do their thing while we chat.  A small "core group" of us have started doing stuff together outside of class like swim lessons, going to the zoo, etc.

chibride4

I've been part of a playgroup for the past 7 months and it's been great for both DS and me. There are a total of 9 of us and our kids are around the same age. We meet once a week for a few hours at either our houses (rotating schedule) or a public place, like a museum or bookstore. The key is to keep the group small and intimate (personally, I think 9 is too big).